Cambridge Coincidences Collection

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

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Well I Never!

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

Family coincidence

We live in the UK and took a family holiday in Italy, staying in a small guest house in Barga in Tuscany. We discovered that the owners of the guest house had arranged the wedding of my mother's cousin (who lives in Australia) just a year before, holding the wedding reception at their guest house.

Ms

Back around 1970, when I was at university a group of us were talking. One student, who'd been brought up in New York, was saying that whenever he mentioned that, someone would say 'I know someone in New York - do you know so and so?' He said that this was stupid as New York was such a large city. He said it's like me saying to you, you're from London do you know and he mentioned a woman's name. I said, well I was at school with someone called that, so we compared notes and it did turn out to be the same woman.

Old Friend

Twenty years ago I retired, we had a walk along the cliffs here at Capel-le-Ferne (White cliffs of Dover) and watched a simulated cliff rescue with Air Sea rescue helicopter, firebrigade, Coastguard etc and got talking to another couple and I realised she was in my youth club over 40 years earlier. We walked back their car talking to them and she said her husband was retiring the following year and they were going to have a long holiday flying round the World. The following year we were invited to stay with an old friend from RAF days in his house at Huntington Beach California. We flew to San Francisco, hired a car and spent a few days bird watching driving down HIghway 1 to L.A. On our first day at Huntington Beach we went down to Bolsa Chica Wetlands, the local bird reserve, and I set up my birding telescope, a lady came over and said she only had binoculars which were not strong enough for her to identify a bird and she wanted to know if it was a Lesser Yellow Legs or a Greater Yellow Legs.

Kidneys

I share my office with two other women. We have discovered that each of us only has one working kidney. One woman donated a kidney to her daughter. One woman has discovered fairly recently that one of her kidneys is not working and I was born with only one working kidney and didn't find out 'til I was 18. I am 40, and the other two are late 40's. We are all in good health and have no ill effects from only having one kidney each. What are the chances of us all ending up working in the same office?

Same names

I heard your piece on the Today programme. I am Alan George S, my wife and I went on a riverboat cruise (about 120 passengers) in 2010 and noted that there was another Mr and Mrs S on the passenger list. The other Mr S was also Alan George S, we were born within a month of each other in 1940. This caused some confusion when checking in for our flight. Regards Alan S

Robin, June, and a Spanish Waiter

My wife June and I have been married for over 40 years, and spent the first 9 years working and living in Holland. In 1973 we took a package holiday to Spain from Holland. The hotel in Benidorm was full of Dutch and German visitors, and at beakfast, the waiter struck up a conversation with us. I can assure you the following is true, even if I cannot remember the conversation precisely: Waiter: "you are eengleesh I think ?" Robin: "yes, sorry about that." Waiter: "I know England: where in England you come from?" Robin: "You would not know it: a small town called Wokingham, maybe 30 miles west of London." Waiter: "I know Wokingham: where in Wokingham you live ?" Robin: "You would not know it: Luckley Road, about a mile south of the town." Waiter: "I know Luckly Road: where in Luckley Road you live?" Robin (already having doubts about this waiter): "Number 45, near the rail bridge". Waiter: "I know where: I worked in kitchen in school behind you." That's when I realized it was genuine: There was a private girls school behind us, and my mother also worked for a brief ti

House occupation

Some 30 years ago we moved to a house that was off the beaten track near Gunnislake in Cornwall. About six months after we move in I was collecting some Fish and Chips In Tavistock and while in the fish Shop I heard a bang and the sound of breaking glass. I went outside to see that the car in front of mine had reversed and the ladder he was carrying on the roof had broken the rear window of my car. We exchanged details and it transpired that the driver had lived at my house some years earlier! My sister-in-law moved to Reigate and after a while she met her next door neighbours. At dinner party, one evening, she found out that they had also lived in our house many years earlier!

Knowing new neighbours

In Septmeber 2000, when living in Mold, North Wales, my wife and I had a holiday in the Canadian Rockies. While in Banff, we decided to take a small (four person) cable car up one of the mountains. We joined a large queue where all but two other people were Japanese and we shared the cable car with the two people from Angelsey (Ynys Mon). We exchaned pleasantries, but went our separate ways on the mountain. It then started to snow heavily and my wife and I headed back to the cafe for a hot chocolate. The other couple also arrived at the same time, so I bought them the same and we talked more about our holiday. We both shared where we live and said 'what a coincidence'. We decended the mountain in the cable car together and (eventhough we were both staying in Banff) they asked for our email address solely because they took a photo of us and said that they would send it to us, but didn't meet up again that holiday. Initially they lost our email address, but found it some weeks later, after their return to Wales. In the email they also said that they were having a Christmas Party and asked whether we would like to come. Which we did.

Birthday coincidence

My eldest child was born on 20 October in Birningham - her midwife's birthday and also that of my cousin. My second child was born on 4 February in Devon - his midwife's birthday and also that of my auntie. My mother was born on 16 September- she had fraternal twins. My daughter had fraternal twins on 16 September.

My coincindence "diary"

First coincidence – that I’ve been thinking a lot about coincidences recently and the link to this webpage pops up on my twitter feed via Evan D – I wasn’t looking for it. Recently I have become aware of lots of strange little coincidences in my life and so I’ve been keeping a “coincidence diary”. So here’s my selection. Owls I recently moved house and on the first night in my new house I was woken by the sound of an owl. A few days later I went shopping and walked past a shop and in the window was a cushion in the shape of an owl – so I went in and bought it. I turned the corner and there was a person from a local bird of prey centre standing with an Indian Eagle owl. Then I went into M&S to buy socks and at the checkout there were some little lights in the shape of owls – so I bought a couple. My son came home later that evening – he’d been out shopping with friends – and he showed me his new sweatshirt – which had an owl design on the front.

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